badlands ⇹ joshler

colors

i suggest listening to sad / chill music while reading, it makes it better :)

_

josh gazes at the sky above him as the colors join together in infatuating, mesmerizing harmony. he is rendered spellbound as the vast sea of pooling colors hypnotize him.

"what are you looking at?" the voice speaks, abruptly distracting josh from his staring contest with the sky.

"the sky," he says bluntly, without breaking his gaze.

"why? it's just a sky," the voice replies, seemingly disinterested.

josh interrupts his gaze with the world above him and looks to the boy beside him.

"don't you see all the colors?"

he looks up to the sky. "no... the clouds look pretty, though."

"what clouds?"

"the ones right above us. they're pretty, like you," tyler says, before aiming a smile towards him.

"all i see are colors," josh says, ignoring tyler's comment.

"what do they look like?"

"it's mostly yellow and a light shade of pink with dark blue, but there's some gray, too. it looks like the smoke that comes. remember?" josh asks him.

"yeah. how could i not?" tyler says, shaking his head.

"horrible smoke, horrible smoke."

"so what is prettier?" tyler asks, "me or the sky?"

josh takes a minute to think. "it's probably about equal," he says, squinting his eyes.

"the sky must be very pretty then," tyler says. josh watches as his dark brown eyes flicker over to him.

"you're full of yourself," josh says, not commenting on tyler's looks.

"yeah, i know." tyler sighs.

"look, a flower." josh points in front of where they're sitting.

"i don't see it," tyler says, sadly.

josh picks it up and tangles the stem around in tyler's fluffy brown hair.

"cute," josh says, humming. even though tyler can't see it, he beams at josh's words.

"are there any more flowers?" tyler asks.

josh looks around. "oh, here's one more," he says as he picks one out of the grass beside him. he tangles the stem around in tyler's fluffy brown hair.

"flower boy," josh sings. tyler smiles.

"what color are the flowers? i wish i could see them."

"the flowers are blue," josh states.

"blue like the sky?"

"maybe your sky, but not my sky," josh says.

"okay."

wind begins to pick up, causing one of the flowers to blow out of tyler's hair. josh quickly grabs it before it can blow away. he tangles the stem back around in tyler's fluffy brown hair.

"do you like me, josh?"

"huh?" josh says, startled at the odd question.

"do you like me?" he repeats, looking shyly into josh's mocha-colored eyes.

"yes of course, we're best friends."

tyler slowly turns away, looking aimlessly out into the sea of grass they sit in. he reaches for his shoe, unties it, then reties it again.