Tyler had begun to miss more practices to hang out with Jenna. Josh knew he should be happy for him, but he couldn't. His heart still beat for him even though he knew it was wrong - wrong to love somebody who loves someone else, wrong to love your best friend.
Whenever the two did rehearse, Josh distanced himself. He wasn't as relaxed as usual and hardly said a word to Tyler. It made Tyler uncomfortable if he was being honest, but he was afraid to ask. Why, he wasn't sure. After all, they were best friends, right? One would think he'd have no problem addressing his best friend, so why was he so terrified?
It was Andy who got through to Josh first. One night while Tyler was with Jenna, Josh had gone over to Andy's house and broke down. He was crying into Andy's chest, who in turn stroked his back and told him everything would be fine in that soft voice of his. Josh looked up at him then did something neither of them expected. He kissed him.
The red haired boy leaned in and pressed his lips to Andy's. His cheeks were stained with tears and Andy slowly reciprocated the kiss, his arms moving around his waist.
Josh ended up staying the night.
Neither of them spoke about it and it became routine.
Josh would come over in shreds, and Andy would take care of him.
Andy would express his concern about Joe from time to time, only to be hushed by Josh's lips and hands, and Andy would do the same whenever Josh mentioned Tyler. None of the others knew about the odd relationship they'd formed, and they wanted to keepit that way.
"It's just friends with benefits. Nothing more." Josh would repeat to himself. But whenever he layed with Andy, all he could picture was Tyler in his place.
The more time Tyler spent with Jenna, the more time Josh would spend with Andy. Josh hadn't felt nearly as happy as he did when it was just Tyler and him. He knew he should be supportive, but whenever he looked at Tyler, all he could feel was jealousy.
The fall dance had finally come along, but Josh didn't bother to show. Andy, Pete, Joe, and Patrick were scheduled to play, Brendon was with Sarah, and Tyler was with Jenna. This left Josh home alone that night. He was laying back on his bed when his phone began to ring. He reached blindly for his phone in the darkness of the room and looked at the caller id. For some reason, he'd hoped it was Tyler callingto voice his regrets. Instead, it was...Pete? Josh answered, and he could hardly hear Pete's voice over the commotion of the dance.
"Hey, Josh, listen." Pete sounded strained and the red haired boy instantly grew worried. "I'm on my way over...is that okay?"
"Yeah, yeah man. Of course."
Pete thanked him and hung up. Josh's house was only a few miles from the orchard, so he was there in no time. As soon as he opened the door, Pete grabbed Josh's wrist and yanked him upstairs and past his sleeping parents.
"Ow! Dude, what the hell? That hurts!" He complained, but Pete only scoffed and shoved him down onto his bed and began to pace.
"Pete, what is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?! More like what the fuck is wrong with you!"
"Hey, keep it dow-"
"Shut up, Josh." Pete practically growled. Josh was completely lost, having absolutely no idea what he had done wrong. Pete examined his expression and slowly relaxed, tilting his head to the side.
"You really don't know?"
Josh shook his head.
"You and Andy."
He let out a quiet 'oh' and looked away from the blonde.
"How...how did you find out...?"
"I know a liar when I see one. I noticed you and Andy were hanging out a lot more, and when I asked him why, he wouldn't reply. I finally got it out of him, and I'm not happy."
"Why do you even care?" Josh began, still trying to understand everything. "It doesn't involve you."
Pete sighed and sat beside Josh on the bed.
"It may not involve me, but it sure as hell involves Joe and Tyler." Before Josh could question, Pete continued with his explanation.
"Andy likes Joe. Everyone knows that, except Joe. Joe likes Andy. Everyone knows that except Andy. If Joe finds out about you two, he'd be devastated. And that's not fair to them."
"Why don't you just tell them they like each other?"
"Because, I'm not gonna play cupid. They'll figure it out soon enough for themselves, trust me."
"Okay...but how does Tyler figure in to all of this?" Josh asked hesitantly, unsure of whether or not he really wanted an answer.
"He misses you."
"What? No he doesn't. He has Jenna..."
"Shut up and listen, okay?" Pete shot him a glare and Josh fell quiet.
"You're his best friend, and you haven't been hanging out together. He came up to me tonight in tears because he thinks he fucked up. I know he doesn't realize it now, but he loves you, and not in a platonic way. Yeah, people cry over friends. But he's...I think he's just scared."
Josh listened intently to Pete and let every word sink in. Tyler liked-no, wait-loved him? It seemed impossible, and he couldn't understand it.
"Just...just trust me, Josh. Follow your heart."
