drummer boy (boyxboy)

Chapter Two

After a while, there was a knock at the door. Josh's mom eagerly washed her hands, wiped them on a paper towel and went over to answer it as Josh followed, not too far behind.

"Welcome!" His mother exclaimed. The family smiled and gave their thanks. "Here, come inside." She told them, motioning for everyone to come into the house. She took their coats and directed them to the living room where they'd be more comfortable, leaving Josh there to handle the rest.

"Why did she have to leave? What the heck am I supposed to do with myself now? I can't talk to them, that'd be awkward." He thought to himself. Josh gave a simple, small smile to three people sitting in his living room and slowly backed up, running out of the room so he didn't have to deal with the small talk that would've taken place.

The parents sat there, making conversation with one another, leaving the son out of the conversation. He sat there with his head down and hands in his lap, not saying a word and ignoring the things his parents were saying.

Finally dinner was served, after what seemed like forever, and everyone was sat at that dinning room table eating the food Josh and his mom had prepared previously.

"So Tyler, what grade are you in this year?" Josh's mom asked. Josh stayed silent.

"Uh, tenth." The small boy choked. He didn't seem like much of a talker either to the mom. She knew how to handle it though considering Josh was the same way.

"Oh that's great! Josh is in the same grade." She smiled at him. Tyler smiled in return and looked over at Josh who was just picking at his food, not maintaining eye contact with anyone. "Maybe you two could get together sometime. Or maybe you two will even have classes together. Wouldn't that be fun, dear?" She asked Josh.

"Yeah. It sure will, mom." He told her, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. His mother only smiled, not noticing his unenthusiastic attitude.

"I actually think that would be cool." Tyler said, looking up at Josh. He took in all his features and his heart dropped a tad. It was weird to him but he didn't pay too much attention to the sentiment.

"Yeah, me too. Nice shirt." Josh complimented. Tyler was wearing a Hands Like Houses shirt and he thought it was interesting. Not many people there knew, or even listened to, the type of music Josh did. It was a relief when he noticed Tyler did.

"Thanks." Tyler beamed. "You're a fan?" He asked. The two were leading their own conversation now and it felt nice to them both. It wasn't often either of them met people of the same interest.

"Of course. They're fricking dope." He chuckled, smiling at the boy. He couldn't help but ignore his mother when she told him to mind his language, as he was too engrossed in the boy neighboring him.

"Josh, you like that wretched mess too, huh?" Tyler's mother spoke up.

"Uh, what?" He asked, taken aback. That was a rude comment to say to someone. Especially when you're meeting for the first time.

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend." She defended. "It's just that, Tyler listens to that too, as apparent as that is, and we don't necessarily agree with it." Tyler got quiet again and looked down at his food, trying not to listen.

"That's cool on you? You don't have to agree, really. You're not the one listening to it." Josh shrugged.

"Nice manners, boy." Tyler's father intervened.

"Likewise." He smiled and rolled his eyes. Josh soon got up from the table and began to walk out of the dinning room table when he stopped.

"Hey Tyler, if you want to get away from the weird people, let me know. Always free, my friend." He told the boy, not facing him. Josh kind of felt on top of the world with the way he handled the conversation before. Sure, it wasn't his first time standing up for himself but this time it gave him a real adrenaline rush to just sass someone like that.

"Alright, alright, thanks." Tyler said. He appreciated Josh for what he did. He knew his parents were dicks but usually people didn't stand up to them like that. He never knew why though.

"I think we can call it a night, right?" Josh's mother spoke up. Things were getting a bit hairy and she thought it was best for everyone to just drop things where they were right now.

"Right..." The new neighbors said. "We'll see you around?" They finished, uncertain.

"Definitely."

And with that, everyone got their things and walked out of the house, scurrying across the street where they would discuss what just happened privately. Maybe then they wouldn't offend anyone.

---

Josh was laying on his bed, listening to music when his door creaked open.

"Josh, could I have a quick word with you?" His mother asked him. She sounded worried.

"Yeah, sure." He sat up. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to say," She held her son's hand in her own. "I think what you did at dinner tonight was kickass." She giggled. Josh hasn't heard his mom curse before so it came as a surprise but, nonetheless, he laughed with her and enjoyed the moment.

"I mean, I've never seen you stand up for yourself like that and I thought it was great."

"Yeah..." He smiled in thought. "Yeah, I think so too. Thanks. I just hope they let Tyler talk to me. He seemed pretty rad or whatever." Josh shrugged like it wasn't a big deal but he knew that having Tyler as a friend would actually be a bit cool.

"Trust me, I don't think anything they say will stop Tyler from talking to you if he would. You two hit it off and I think you'll be great friends in the future. You just be yourself and you'll be fine." She encouraged. She soon brought Josh in for a hug and left the room.

"I sure hope so..." Josh thought to himself as he unplugged his headphones and plugged in his phone. Tomorrow was Saturday so he wouldn't have to get up for school but he was pretty beat and could use the sleep. Today was an eventful day for him.

He got punched in the face for the first time by Brendon Urie, met a cool and interesting kid named Tyler and stood up for himself to some pricks of parents. He liked the feeling but felt like it would be a one time thing. Sighing, he turned off his lights and went to bed, looking forward to a day of doing nothing and hanging out.

***

Awesome. Second Chapter. This seems boring but, it'll pick up, I swear. Tyler's parent's are dicks and Josh hates them already :( but it's okay because Tyler hates them too :)

fair winds *