sometimes to stay alive, you gotta kill your mind《joshler》

Chapter 10

"I can't belive he found me here. How did he even know where we were? How did he know to follow us all the way from New York to Columbus?"

"Shh, Ty. You don't have to worry about any of that, because I'm gonna get us out of this. He might stalk us, or you at least. He could look on any Web page and see that our families live in Columbus, and we just announced that we were taking a short break to visit with them. He's probably some insane fan who put two and two together." Josh said, attempting to keep Tyler calm.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But how are we going to get away from him, then? We don't have the money to keep moving, and we can't be sure that were a step ahead of him. Where can we go that he won't follow?"

Josh thought for a moment, playing with Tyler's fingers absentmindedly. "I always wanted to buy a nice house in LA if the band got big. I'm not really sure if we've got the money for that, but we could try? We can leave as soon as possible, and go look for a place that isn't too expensive."

Tyler shrugged. "Yeah, I'd like that. And maybe we can buy a bodyguard too, to protect us." He said, giggling.

Josh rolled his eyes. "I'm your bodyguard. I know what he looks like now, so if he ever comes around again? I'll.. punch him. Until he's dead."

"You'll punch him to death?" Tyler said.

"That's what I said."

Tyler laughed and said, "I really appreciate it, Josh. I love you." Josh smiled and returned the declaration, before he stood up from their couch and said, "Well I guess we should go ahead and pack up what little bit we've got here."

Tyler groaned but nodded and stood up anyway. "Okay." He said, following Josh into their bedroom to pack up the clothes they'd only just unpacked, along with the few other things they'd stocked their new house with.

"So, what do we tell our families? You didn't want them to know about him, but now he's kinda.. an issue again. Do you want to tell them or just make up an excuse?" Josh asked Tyler, once their things were packed into bags.

Tyler's eyes widened a little, and he seemed to shrink down a little as well. "I uh, didn't think about that." He sighed, and Josh wrapped an arm around him comfortingly. "Do you think you could tell our families, Josh? I don't think I can bring myself to talk about it with them."

Josh nodded. "Of course, baby boy. But I don't want to leave you alone, so you'll have to come with me. I can talk to them in another room, so you don't even have to hear. But I really don't want to leave you anywhere by yourself." 

Tyler smiled, tears making their way into his eyes. He didn't let them fall though, as he kissed Josh quickly and thanked him.

**

Later that day, Tyler and Josh drove to Josh's family's house. Tyler decided he'd wait in the living room while Josh talked to his parents in the kitchen. He tried no to listen to what Josh was saying, but it was hard to resist.

"Mom, Dad?" Josh said. "Me and Tyler, we've got to move away."

"But Josh, you only just got here!" Josh's mom exclaimed.

"Mom, you don't understand. Back in New York, uh.. something happened to Tyler, and the guy who did it followed us here. We're worried that he's stalking us, so we need to move somewhere unpredictable so he can't follow us again."

Josh's parents seemed a little confused. "But what happened to Tyler, did the guy try to steal something from him? Like a crazy fan or something?"

"I guess you could say that. But uh, this guy, he... he got Tyler when I wasn't around, in this alley, and he kinda... took advantage of him." Josh stammered, avoiding using harsh words that he couldn't bring himself to say.

"Oh... oh, my, is he okay?" Josh's mom asked, while his dad stood in shocked silence.

"He's... he's getting there. It's hard for him, but I really care about him, and I think over time he'll be better." Josh said. "I guess I should also let you know; me and Tyler are kinda a thing now. We love each other. As more than friends, I mean."

"Oh Josh, we kind of figured that." Josh's dad finally chimed in. "It's kind of obvious."

Josh rolled his eyes, but hugged both of his parents lovingly before walking back to the living room and kissing Tyler on the forehead. "Now we need to go talk to your mom."