grindr ❯ joshler

"i really want this job but i really want tyler."

josh's pov

working at a record store comes with lots of opportunities. discounts off records, posters, instruments, shit like that. but there's also a bunch of musicians walking in there, offering and giving jobs to work with them. the other day whilst i was working among my peers, when a cool lookin' dude just so happened to walk into the old, dusty, yet modernly fashionable record store.

i was casually putting records from The 1975 away when that same cool lookin' dude walks up to me. "hey man, i'm mckinley kitts, one of the guitarists for the band flor. not sure if you've heard of us or not but we're based in oregon and los angeles. my band mates and i are currently on tour and we've been on a hunt for a sick looking dude such as yourself to help us with merch and shit y'know?" the man, now known as mckinley kitts paused, waiting for my response. the idea of going on tour and selling stuff if pretty exciting to me, getting to travel is one of my favorite things to do.

"that sounds amazing dude! i'd love to do that! i'm josh, by the way, joshua dun." we exchanged hellos and shook hands, the basics. "great! lemme grab your number and maybe we can go grab some coffee and talk about the tour and stuff after your shift ends?" i nodded and handed him my phone. as skeptical as it sounds, i'm totally down for it.

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mckinley and i were currently at good ole starbucks, slowly getting to know each other while discussing the tour situation. "well, we leave columbus in five days, so that way you have time to think about it, contact your loved ones -" and that's when i stopped listening. throughout this whole time, i completely forgot about what tyler would think. would he break up with me? would long distance be too hard on him? would he not let me go? "-so that way, we can be back around late april, early may." he finished, of course me not hearing a thing he said. "y-yeah that sounds great man, i'll definitely text you about it later, alright? i gotta head out but uh, maybe you and your buddies can meet up with me somewhere and talk some more, yeah?" i replied, seconds from running home to see tyler and talk to him about it. "yeah, of course, josh! see you soon!" he said, giving me a quick 'bro hug.' i'm too gay for those, i can't stand em.

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i finally made it home just in time to see that tyler had made dinner for us. two plates of spaghetti sat across from each other on separate sides of the table with a candle lit in between them. "hi, joshy! i missed you lots today and we haven't done anything like this in a while so i made us a nice dinner!" he beamed. my heart sunk, if he missed me this much to the point where he made dinner, i could only imagine what it's going to be like when i tell him the news. "thank you ty, that's really sweet of you" i told him, pecking his lips once, before he caught me off guard by pressing his lips on mine a few more times. he smiled then walked behind me, pulling my chair out. i thanked him and watched carefully as he sat down and started eating.

from being so damn anxious, i wasn't that hungry. but of course i took a few bites to at least appreciate his gesture. he must've noticed that i wasn't eating when he asked, "hey? is something wrong? you aren't eating like you normally do, j." welp, it looks like i'll be telling him the news i've been regretting since 5 pm. "w-well, today at work, a kid named mckinley kitts, he's a guitarist for the band flor,he came in. he told me his band was looking for a guy to help with selling merch for them and he asked me because i was a "sick looking dude." we had a coffee and discussed the tour and-" he cut me off, "wait, hold-hold on a second. d-did you say tour?" i slowly nodded, afraid of his reaction. "oh." he sighed, "that's great josh. i-i think that'd be a great job for you. touring around the country, i know you like to travel and stuff." tyler looked up at me, eyes glossy. i pulled away from the table and quickly made my way towards him. he stood up, wrapped his arms around me and started sobbing into my neck.

he sniffled, "d-don't leave me. p-please don't leave me joshy." i was on the biggest guilt trip of my life at the moment. i could choose the former option and stay here with ty and get paid minimum wage or i can go with the latter and travel the united states and get paid double minimum wage. i really want this job, but i really want tyler.

"shh, baby. it's alright. don't cry, shh." i fucking knew this was going to be hard on him yet i still decided to do it. i picked him up and had him wrap his legs around my waist and carried him upstairs. i laid us both down the same way i carried him up and put a blanket over us. his crying has eased down a little bit, tears still occasionally streaming down his face.

"josh?" he asked, voice hoarse and scratchy.

"yes, princess?"

"do you want to go on tour with that band?"

"i-i mean, yeah a little bit. but i won't go if you don't wan-"

"look, j. i want you to do whatever makes you happy, okay? if you want to go on tour, i'm alright with it, i'll be okay. and besides, th-there's facetime and stuff." he sniffled, this was hard on both him and i.

"are you sure, tyler? y-you want me to go?"

he nodded, "of course, baby. want you to be happy." he paused before continuing, "now i want you to tell me all of the pros of going on this tour right now."

i took a deep breath, "w-well, i get paid double of what i get paid now, i get to travel which as you know is something i've always wanted to do, i get to meet new people, which is another thing i love."

"see, there you go. you looked so happy and excited while you talked about those things! i really want you to go, i want you to have fun instead of being cooped up inside of this stupid apartment with me. go live your life."

"really?!" i said, jumping out of bed, searching for my phone to text mckinley the news.

tyler jumped out of bed himself and rushed over to me. "yes really!" he exclaimed, immediately wrapping his arms around me again. it was almost out of instinct, and it's probably one of the things i'll miss the most. "how long is the tour again?" i ran a hand through my hair, "well, the band leaves in five days, so from then, it continues into next month and i'll be back around late april to early may."

"wow, that-that's a long time." he chuckled. i kissed the top of his head then rested my chin on top of the spot i kissed. "m'gonna miss you so much." tyler tightened his grip on me, if possible, and sighed again. "i'm gonna miss you more" he raised his head from my chest, looking at me. i stared back into his eyes, watching a single tear fall down his face. i wiped the tear away and gently pressed my lips to his. "i love you, tyler. please don't ever forget that." he nodded once more and stood on his tippy-toes to give me one final kiss. "lets get to bed mkay?" i hummed in response, crawling into bed with my lover before bringing him as close to me as possible, "i'm never letting you go."

what have i done. why did i do this. why am i such an emotional fuck. why is today my birthday. oh look,, i stayed alive another year!! look at me go!! anyways,, i hope you enjoyed this sappy chapter. there will another sappy chapter like this one soon. see yall later

and thanks for over 400 reads ❤️