HeavyDirtySoul

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Hey, Tyler! Wait up!" I turn around to see Jenna Black running towards me. Josh wasn't at school today and my brother, Zack, is borrowing my car so here I am walking alone. I slow down a bit for Jenna to catch up.

"Hey Jenna." I try my best to smile for her.

"Hey! Since when do you walk this way?" Jenna's smile makes butterflies fly around in my stomach.

"I usually don't. My br-brother took my car." I cringe at the crack in my voice. I hate myself.

She probably thinks you're weird.

"Oh. You should walk with me every now and then."

No.

"Yeah, sure. Well I turn here, what about you?"

"I go straight." We stand there in an awkward silence for about thirty seconds. "Can you walk me home, Tyler?"

"Yes." I say way too quickly.

She smiles and interlocks our arms together. The blonde begins to talk really quickly about something I didn't get. She talked a lot and really fast. I don't mind though. I think I like her voice.

"Well this is my house." We stopped in front of a cute little house. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem." We smile at each other and I thought she was going to walk away but then, out of nowhere, she kisses my cheek. I immediately go red and a stupid grin meets my lips.

"Bye Tyler." She smiles and runs into her house. I stand there for a couple minutes trying to process what just happened.

"She kissed me!" I finally yell and start to run to Josh's house. I have to tell him. His mom answers the door when I knock and welcomes me in. I run up to Josh's room and shake him awake.

"What the fuck bro?" Josh yells.

"She kissed me on my cheek! Jenna Black kissed me on my cheek!" I yell back. The anger quickly fades from his face and he smiles.

"Seriously dude!?" I nod. "Oh my god bro, we need to celebrate! This calls for pizza with bacon on it. Come on!"

Josh jumped out of bed and found a shirt in his drawer to put on then we ran to the kitchen.

"Woah, woah, woah. What are you guys running around for?" Mrs. Dun asked.

"Ty's crush kissed him on his cheek and we've gotta celebrate. Can you get us bacon pizza?"

"What size?"

"Extra extra extra large!" Josh exclaimed with a smile.

"Large it is. I'll be back in probably about thirty minutes. Don't make a mess."

"Thanks mom." "Thanks Mrs. Dun."

Josh's mom left as Josh and I plopped down onto the couch. We played on our phones for a couple minutes before Josh started to speak.

"You're a weird guy, Tyler." He didn't even look up from his phone.

"Why?" Should I be offended? Should I laugh? Where did this even come from? Is he going to tell me to leave? Is he done being my friend? He's probably tired of me being so emotional. Oh god I hope he doesn't leave me. I need him. I don't know what I'd do without him.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding like a dick so just punch me when I say too much." He paused, "You're like the happiest, most hilarious person I've ever met. At the same time though, you're the saddest person I ever met. How - why do you do it? I know that you're not actually happy all the time."

I didn't know how to answer at first. No one has said anything like this before. I shrugged at first but then I realized Josh wasn't going to take that as an answer. "I don't like being a burden. I don't like telling anyone my problems. I try my best to handle them myself because I don't want anyone else to have to deal with them. If you wouldn't have just inserted yourself into my life, I probably wouldn't have told you anything honestly. My family don't even know what my smallest fears are. I pretend to be happy because it's easier to pretend to love life than to explain to everyone why you don't. It's not that hard anymore. Everyone but you is easy to fool. Happiness is the only thing I can give without having."

Josh didn't answer because his mom walked through the door.

"Pizza's here!" She sat the pizza on the table. Josh and I walked over to the table as his mother left.

"Come here kid." Josh said and engulfed me in a hug. I wasn't aware how much I craved this hug until it happened. Once we pulled away, we grabbed some pizza and sat at the table. "Are you okay?" Josh went to grab his second slice of pizza.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you lying?"

I thought about it for a second and for the first time in a while, I didn't have to lie. "No."