𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙎 || 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿

16 - Favorite

Saturday, November 13th:

Tyler took a breath. To him, it was like everything moved in slow motion as the ball left his hands and flew towards the hoop. As it hit the backboard and passed through the net, he was quickly engulfed in a huge hug by his teammates as the buzzer sounded, signifying the end of the game.

He could hear the cheers from the stands, but it was muffled by the rushing in his ears, caused by the adrenaline kick he'd gotten. He celebrated with his teammates, earning multiple slaps on the back as the clump dispersed, the players going back to their families on the stands and receiving their congratulations and hugs.

Tyler felt a sting of sadness, knowing that his parents weren't there. Nobody was there for him. At least, that's what he thought, until he caught sight of a familiar face, and a huge grin found its way onto his.

"Josh!" he exclaimed, running up to the older boy excitedly, who was beaming at him.

"Hey, Mr. Basketball Star," he greeted Tyler.

"Were you here for the whole game?" the younger boy questioned, feeling disbelieving, as though nobody could actually want to watch him play.

"Start to finish," Josh confirmed with a nod, making Tyler's heart swell in his chest.

Before he could control himself, he wrapped his arms around Josh, engulfing him in a tight hug, his eyes glassy. He'd never felt so cared for before.

"Thank you," he mumbled into Josh's ear, and it felt like they were the only two in the world, despite being surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Of course. I couldn't miss the first game, now could I?" Josh asked, and Tyler pulled back, a smile on his face.

"You're my favorite person, Josh Dun," Tyler told him sincerely, looking into Josh's pretty mocha eyes and feeling his stomach do flips.

Josh smiled at that. "I try."

The two looked at each other a moment, maybe a touch too long, before Josh looked away, clearing his throat a little.

"Now, c'mon," he said, beginning to walk towards the exit, "we've got celebratory ice cream to get to."

Tyler, recovering from the momentary awkwardness, grinned again.

"Wow, you're just spoiling me," he joked, following Josh out to his car.

"Well, you just single-handedly won the first game of the season for your team. You deserve it."

Tyler opened his mouth to protest that, but shut it, a smile overtaking it. Instead, he just mumbled a bashful, "Thank you."

Josh drove them both to a local ice cream parlor, where they were thankfully the only ones going to celebrate from the game. He paid for Tyler's ice cream—only because he insisted on it, despite Tyler's protests—and they sat down at a table outside, enjoying their frozen treats.

"So," Josh started after they sat down, a smile resting on his face. Tyler couldn't focus on anything else besides that little, content smile that played on Josh's lips. Not even when he started to speak.

"Ty?" Josh asked, pulling Tyler out of his trance. Tyler snapped his eyes up to Josh's, a blush overtaking his face.

"Sorry, I spaced out. What'd you say?" he questioned, embarrassed, hoping Josh didn't think too much about the fact that Tyler had been staring at his lips.

A little laugh escaped Josh's mouth. "I just asked how the new ukulele is working out. I haven't really gotten to hear you play since I first gave it to you."

"Oh! Yeah, it's been great," Tyler reported with a smile. "I daresay it's even better than my old one."

"Really?" Josh asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yup. Especially the design. Some talented artist painted it."

"Wonder who that was," he joked, but a light blush that made Tyler's head fuzzy crept onto his face at the compliment.

"Speaking of, I didn't see any painting stuff when I was at your house. Was that like a one-time thing, or...?" Tyler inquired.

"Oh, it's all in the garage," Josh explained. "I just don't have enough space in my room and my mom doesn't want me getting any paint on the carpet, so my easel and stuff are in the garage, far away from any carpeting."

Tyler nodded in understanding. "You should show me some of your paintings sometime," he suggested.

Josh hesitated. "I mean, they're not that good," he mumbled, but Tyler was quick to interject.

"If the flowers you painted on my ukulele are anything like what you usually paint, then I'd say they're probably amazing," he said, earning a shy look from Josh. He noticed that Josh got this way a lot when talking about his hobbies, especially ones he was exceptional at. It just made Tyler want to shower him with compliments and adoration, because he deserved it.

"Next time you're at my house, I'll show you some," he said, making Tyler smile. He also internally celebrated at the knowledge that there would be a next time for him going to Josh's house.

It was then that a familiar voice made Tyler's happy demeanor completely flip.

"Yeah, I don't know where Tyler ran off to," Cody's voice said, getting out of a car in the lot. He was with Maxx and a few of the other boys from the team, including a boy named Luke and one named Alex.

"He's probably out with his boyfriend," Maxx joked, and then proceeded to make eye contact with Tyler. The laughter died in his throat as Tyler's cheeks heated up at the comment, and he just hoped Josh didn't hear. Unfortunately, as Tyler looked over at him, he saw Josh frowning in Maxx's direction as well.

Tyler was about to go over there and yell at him again, looking pissed, but as he was standing up, Josh caught his arm.

"Ty," he spoke, the nickname still giving the younger boy butterflies amidst his anger. "He's not worth it. Let's just go."

Tyler gave a little nod, and without looking at the group again, the two went to Josh's car. Josh drove away, and Tyler sent one more glare in Maxx's direction, who looked at him, a mixture of guilt and anger on his face. Tyler just rolled his eyes and focused on fiddling with his hands in his lap.

"Don't let them get to you," Josh spoke out, a sigh escaping his lips. "He's just a jerk."

"Yeah," Tyler muttered. "I'm just annoyed that they're talking behind my back. Laughing at me behind my back."

Josh gnawed on his bottom lip in thought. Tyler could see guilt flash across his face, and he wondered why until Josh began to speak again.

"If you want to stop being seen with me, I get it." Tyler gave him an incredulous look as he kept talking. "I mean, I'm the reason they're making fun of you."

"Josh," Tyler muttered, putting a hand on his arm that was resting between them, the other on the wheel. "I literally just told you earlier that you're my favorite person, and I meant it. I'm not leaving you behind because of some stupid rumors or whatever they're saying. You mean more to me than that."

Josh looked at him, and Tyler offered a little, reassuring smile.

"You mean the world to me, Josh."

It took everything Tyler had not to kiss Josh right there and then as they sat at that red light to punctuate his point.

After a few moments, Josh smiled at him, too. "Okay," he muttered, and focused on the road again as the light turned green.

Shortly after, he dropped Tyler off at his house. Things between them were somber, but Tyler could feel the genuinity and mutual caring between them. As he got into his room, he did the one thing he always did when he was feeling such strong emotions: he wrote a song.

This one? It was titled "Lovely."