S T U P I D ; joshler

This Starts Out Super Happy But I'm Terrible, Don't Underestimate Me

"And the point of this, exactly?"

Poor Spencer Smith; deja vu?

"The point is obvious, if you paid attention," Brendon said, rolling his eyes in a way that made Spencer's twitch.

"Uh, yeah, sure, my bad. But enlighten me again, please?"

If patience was a virtue, then Spencer was a virtuous man; even so, every good man has his faults— such as being forced into stalking two of your best friends with your other best friend. Which, funnily enough, sounded like some dumb fanfic trope. Wouldn't that be funny?

"We're just— just people watching, Spencer, god, keep up!" Brendon screeched indignantly, which earned a few stares and a glare from, you guessed it, Spencer. Which was totally justifiable.

"People watching," he muttered, quirking his brow in a way that made Brendon begin to stomp off, eyes still glued to Spencer's form. That was his first mistake, his second being his selective hearing. Because although someone tried to warn him, Brendon didn't hear, and instead smacked face first into an open locker and effectively slammed it shut. "No one ever listens!"

Spencer stomped over to retrieve his crumpled friend, Dallon and Ryan rushing over to the scene, which would probably embarrass him more than offer any aid. Not that the couple cared or noticed; well, Dallon didn't, but Ryan was wearing a shit eating grin that let Spencer know exactly what had been going on.

"Are you okay?" Dallon asked, frowning slightly as he stopped down to look Brendon over. Ryan snickered lightly, bending over and hauling the crumpled boy up.

"Course he is, he's coming over to my house with us, after all," Ryan smirked.

"I am...?"

"You are."

"I am."

-•-•-•-•-

Tyler wished that he would've been within the general vicinity of emergency contacts Frank had mentioned yesterday, he really did, because right now he needed them.

Tyler was trapped helplessly by a group of six boys, all friends with the one he'd encountered yesterday. They had him pinned to the brick, the smell of the outside world leaking into his nostrils and prodding at them. Even the trees had Tyler pinned, large limbs leaning over the link fence and poking him with stiff fingers; hell, he'd take the trees over this.

"Your boyfriend isn't here to fuck with us, is he?"

Tyler didn't know what to do, really he didn't. They kept shoving him back, the brick biting at his back and surely leaving scratches and bloody marks. It hurt.

"What a retard," one snickered, "what's the matter? Was mommy on too many drugs when she had poor little Tilly?"

He shied away and looked anywhere but them and the menacing trees. When a fist connected with his torso, he grunted, a low whine. The lead grabbed him by his hoodie and drug him across the sidewalk to a patch of grass. He slung Tyler's small body into some particularly wet dirt, mud clotting to his jeans. He looked up, trying to stay strong and not cry, but when they kicked dirt into his face he couldn't stop the tears.

"We better hurry. You still gotta catch the short bus, right, pretty boy?"

Tyler felt anger boiling in him and falling down his face through his tears. They didn't know anything. They didn't know how many times Tyler had wanted to die, tried to die, or how many fucking times Tyler hadn't even gotten out of bed. They didn't know how he hurt or what it felt like to be trapped without a voice due to crippling anxiety.

But they were about to know.

Tyler opened his mouth.

And he screamed.

It was loud and raspy, all broken and torn around the edges— but it was worth it to watch their shock. He shoved himself off the damp ground, hands balling into fists at his sides. He stomped forward until he was a lot closer to the shocked boys than they would've liked.

"I'm not fucking stupid! I'm not, okay?! You don't know a damn thing!"

His voice was strangled and rough, yet stutter free and holding more conviction than an entire army. The boys reeled back, before Tyler's hand darted out to grab the leader's neck. He squeezed.

"That's what it fucking feels like!" he screamed, "it feels like I'm dying because my anxiety won't fucking let me talk! That's what it fucking feels like!"

With that, he shoved the boy out of the way and rushed over to his bag, running through the freshman stairs' doors. He thanked every deity he could think of that the hallway was empty, save for a few freshmen, but they wouldn't care— they were the most indifferent out of anyone at this whole damn school.

Hot tears streaked down his dirty cheeks and sweat clung to his hair. His pants were damp, like his shirt, both sporting some rather impressive spots of dirt. Tyler tucked his head down to stare at his ruined outfit as he rounded the corner into another empty hallway, peeking through the library windows and spotting a familiar head of purple hair.

The door was flung open, and Josh's smile faded as he took in Tyler's appearance. He frowned, quietly asking, "what happened...?"

"They called me stupid," Tyler managed, voice weak after screaming and perhaps just weak from the weight of his emotions. He didn't think he could ever admit that, though. "I yelled at them."

"Oh, Tyler," Josh said, rushing over and wrapping the boy in a hug, not caring if the disgusting residue rubbed off on him. Tyler responded eagerly, wrapping his arms around Josh and taking in his scent. "I'm so sorry."

They went to the bathroom after that, deciding that they could be more productive there than their dinky little algebra classroom. Josh sat Tyler up on the sink, piling up paper towels on the one to the left of him as he worked on wiping any cuts or dirty spots he found on his friend— his best friend.

Tyler had managed to land on a lot of gravel, which he definitely hadn't noticed in his rage induced pity party, but they'd left quite their mark, leaving the only bloody spots on his body. It made Josh's heart hurt, made him angry too, but baffled him most of all. How could anyone hurt Tyler? From the second he'd laid eyes on him, he knew he was the sweetest person in the world.

"Josh?"

"Hmm?"

"I wanna sing for you," Tyler whispered.