Red Hair and Black Paint

Chapter Three

Tyler woke in a panic. It wasn't the usual panic he's felt settle into his veins before, but it was nervous, adrenaline rushed panic. He would describe the feeling as when you're going to audition for something. There's that fear, but the excitement. And that's what he felt. Though, when he checked the time, actual panic set in because Josh would be there in under an hour and he was nowhere near presentable and his apartment was a slight mess.

Well, it was more of a clutter. He usually kept his apartment clean--it was only him, he didn't make much of a mess--but, he had been writing last night and there were most likely papers all over the place. He sprung out of bed, stumbling a little because he was still laced with sleep. He surveyed the living room and just like he predicted, there were crumpled papers, many coffee cups and broken pencils.

He picked up the items and tossed them into the trash, rambling to himself the entire time about it. He didn't throw away the papers though, he always kept them because there could be another possibility where one of the lyrical paragraphs could work. He shoved those into what he called his 'secret' drawer.

Once the living room seemed presentable enough and after he lit a candle, only to emit a homey scent, he went into the shower because there was  paint on him from the other night and apparently he didn't get it all when he washed it off with a cloth. Another sleepless night when he decided that he wanted to paint on his skin. Why? He had no idea, but sometimes it was a good way to purge his mind instead of writing.

It was when he was pulling on a fresh shirt from his closet that he heard a knock at the door and he felt that same panicky, excited feeling in the base of his throat. It crawled it's way up his neck as he made his way to the door and he was sure that he would suffocate, but when he opened the door and saw Josh's smile, it disappeared.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Josh chirped as Tyler let him into the apartment and he raked his eyes over the living room and he wondered for a moment if he was judging. He didn't think he was because his signature smile was on his face.

"Nothing much," Tyler shrugged, not wanting to admit that he literally just woke up about roughly forty five minutes ago. "Been lounging around mostly." A simple, white lie never harmed anything. He also didn't want to mention his slight laziness.

Josh didn't seem to question it and Tyler led him through a short tour of his small apartment, basically just where the bathroom was and what his bedroom looked like. Simple, really. But he was a simple man, so it made sense in the end. Not many things were needed in order to keep him content. All he really wanted was peace and silence and maybe a friend. Now, he had a friend and he found the other two wants in Josh. Which he was extremely grateful for.

"You play piano?" Josh questioned before he turned off the lights and he turned slightly to face his stand up keyboard.

"Yeah, I play it all the time usually." He had another one, but it was old and wooden so he kept it at his parents house. He couldn't lift it himself, so he just bought an electronic one.

Josh seemed interested in it, "You should play it for me." He hummed and then stopped, shrugging sheepishly. "I mean, whenever you feel comfortable and stuff."

Tyler felt oddly comfortable, which was strange because he never really played any music in front of people. His rapping didn't count since it was slow beats ordered online and it was just his voice. The only person he played an actual instrument for was his brother. He felt himself moving to his keyboard without a single word or hesitation. He could hear his bed creaking and he looked over his shoulder at Josh to see him sitting on the edge and he only smiled at him, which the man returned warmly.

Tyler begin to play, hands a little shaky and he twitched a little, not a whole lot. It was calm twitching, not his usually rapid movements at his battles. Because this was more peaceful and relaxing than the crowded, hot area in some random basement. It was just him and Josh and his piano. And he really liked that. He continued to play, moving onto one melody to the next, not playing a particular thing, but each section he made on his own and they showed off what he could do on a piano.